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With Mortal Kombat 2 commencing a $40 million-plus start at the box office (via Deadline), which almost matches the entire domestic gross of the first movie’s theatrical run, discourse surrounding Mortal Kombat 3 in the series has already begun. Although it fell inches short of The Devil Wears Prada 2, which had the last laugh this weekend, writer Jeremy Slater confessed that New Line and WB have already commissioned him to pen the threequel after the test screenings (via The Hollywood Reporter).
We are not greenlit for a third movie yet. When the initial test screening numbers came back last year, and the studio saw how fans were responding to [‘Mortal Kombat II’], I think they realized that there’s a potential here for this to be an ongoing franchise…they commissioned me to start working on a script for [‘Mortal Kombat III’], and I’m finishing a second draft right now
However, with him noting that the movie has yet to be officially greenlit, the viability of future installments might ultimately come down to how the sequel performs by the end of its theatrical run.
Mortal Kombat 3 Will Address Fans’ Issue With the Sequel
While little is known about the next potential addition to this adaptation, Slater, who began working on the threequel’s script after the early test screenings of Mortal Kombat 2, confirmed that they have an approach similar to the sequel.
In addition to finding his new draft for the next potential entry in the series promising, Slater stressed that it’ll address fans’ issues with the sequel, similar to how they took lessons from the first movie’s reception. He told THR:
I’m very, very happy with it. In the same way that we took lessons from the first one and tried to make [‘Mortal Kombat II’] a much better movie, we’re now taking the lessons from [‘Mortal Kombat II’],” Slater said of the status of the third film based on the beloved gory fighting video game
Considering the follow-up, despite its issues, has been received better than the original and is being regarded as the best Mortal Kombat movie yet, it’s possible a potential threequel could end up surpassing the sequel if it eventually materializes.
Jeremy Slater Teases Grand Plans for the Mortal Kombat Series
A still from Mortal Kombat 2 | Credit: WBDespite no official confirmation surrounding the third movie, Slater confessed that the live-action Mortal Kombat franchise could stretch far beyond the projected trilogy.
The writer also entertained the prospect of bringing back some deceased characters and their actors in a potential third, fourth, and fifth entry in the series. And even though it’s too early to say what the future holds for the franchise post-Mortal Kombat 2, which reportedly needs around $200 million to break even, given the depth of the franchise’s lore, a long-running saga wouldn’t be out of the ordinary.
We have big plans for some of the [deceased] characters and some of their actors if we are lucky enough to do a ‘Mortal Kombat III,’ ‘IV,’ ‘V,’ or however long we can take this. The goal would certainly be to use what happens to some of these characters in this movie as a jumping-off point to tell larger stories and maybe do some course corrections.”
For now, it remains to be seen how the movie tracks in the upcoming weekends in this stiff summer window, and whether it succeeds in turning in noticeable returns for WB and New Line Cinema.
What are your expectations for a potential threequel? Comment below!
Mortal Kombat 2 is currently running in theaters.
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